


London's Burning

by Songvakeppni (SamoShampioni)



Category: Bandom, Take That
Genre: 2011, 2011 London Riots, Gen, Take That - Freeform
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-03-20
Updated: 2013-03-20
Packaged: 2017-12-06 17:39:20
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 473
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/738333
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SamoShampioni/pseuds/Songvakeppni
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Very short story I wrote about Take That and the 2011 London Riots</p>
            </blockquote>





	London's Burning

Take That were only supposed to be in London for one night. A concert they had been doing. It had gone well, but they were still there, in the hotel. They couldn't leave yet, not with the state the city was in. The organisers of the concert couldn't guarantee their safety if they tried to get them out of the city. London had become a lawless place virtually overnight. And they had seen it all, the riots, London's descent into mindless violence.  
"Dunno why we came here," Robbie said, obviously annoyed at the situation, "I told you we shouldn't have come to London. Now look what's happened."  
"Now now Robbie," Gary said, "No one could have seen this coming."  
And he was right, no one had expected the streets of Britain to suddenly explode into violence. Drawing all the curtains had done nothing to keep the full scale of the rioting away from them.  
"I can't even look outside the window," Mark said. Even though the curtains were drawn, the five of them could see the red light outside, burning. But even though they didn't want to see what was happening outside, a part of them was curious. _What does it really look like now?_ It was Jason who gathered the courage to finally open the curtains.  
"Sorry guys," he muttered, "But we've got to see this."  
The five of them looked out across the city. Standing there in their safe room in the hotel, they could see everything. The skyline was dotted with red, grey and orange, the air filled with shouting and screaming. Thick smoke floated back down to Earth, making it look as if a misty fog covered the entire city. The once peaceful capital had been transformed in just a few days. London was _burning_ , it was burning all around them. They looked on in shock. They wished the rioters would just stop.  
"It's a nightmare out there," Gary whispered.  
"It'll die down," Howard replied, " _Eventually._ "  
"Eventually?" Robbie said, "That could still be a long time. A very long time. Just when are we getting out of here, anyway?"  
"I already told you yesterday," Gary said, "When the riot dies down."  
"Yeah," Mark said, "So like Howard said, eventually. But we don't know when _exactly_."  
"I hear it's spread to outside London," Jason said, looking down at the newspaper that was sitting on a desk.  
"It has," Gary said sadly, "I don't know what's become of Britain these past few days."  
And indeed, the riots were spreading. Cities all across the UK were now seeing so-called 'copycat riots'. Unprecedented in history, the London riots had left their mark on British society, capturing just how fragile civilisation really was. And Take That had learned an important lesson that day. You never know just how close you are to catastrophe.  
Fin.


End file.
